Stackable containers

ABSTRACT

A supporting handle is rotatably connected to each of two opposing sidewalls forming a container with an open top so the handle rotates between a first supporting position inside the container and a second position outside the container. When in the supporting position each handle has a portion extending inward a distance sufficient to engage a bottom of a similarly sized stacked container that can be stacked on the stackable container during use. The inwardly extending portion is offset toward the bottom to form a ledge on which the supported container rests. The supporting handle also abuts a sidewall to limit rotation of the supporting handle during use and support the supported container.

BACKGROUND

Containers are often tapered in form so that they can be stacked in a nested configuration to reduce the effective size of plural containers for shipping. But it is also useful to stack containers when there are items in the containers but without having the weight of upper containers rest on the contents or items in the lower containers. Putting lids on the containers to allow stacking while protecting the container contents. But the lids block the view of the inside of the container. The lids also prevent touching, adding or removing some items from the stacked containers—without un-stacking the containers and removing the lids. If the lids are removed to provide open-topped containers, then the containers either cannot be nested for shipment or the contents of the container get crushed by the other containers stacked on top of the lower containers. There is thus a need for an improved container which can be stacked in a nested configuration for shipment, and which can be stacked with items in the container without crushing the items.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A first container is provided with a tapered body that can be stacked in a nested configuration for shipment. Two opposing, top sides of the container have a rod running along the edge with a supporting handle attached to the rod so the handle can rotate about the rod to place the supporting handle inside or outside the container. When the supporting handle is inside the container the supporting handle abuts a wall of the container that limits rotation of the supporting handle and positions the supporting handle in a generally horizontal position to support the bottom of a second container stacked on top of the first container. The firs container wall can be strengthened to support the first supporting handle. The first supporting handle has a stepped configuration to abut a sidewall of the second container and limit lateral motion of the second container while supporting the bottom of the container to limit vertical motion of the second container. Thus, a plurality of containers can be stacked and supported by the opposing support handles. The support handles can be rotated to the outside of the container to allow loading of the container. The support handles can also be used to lift individual containers. The support handles can be on four sides of a container, but are preferably only on two opposing sides. In a further variation the support handles are on two opposing sides of a four sided container with the other two sides being cut-away from adjacent one handle, downward toward the container bottom but intersecting the sidewall in order to form an enlarged opening allowing increased access to the inside of the container.

There is thus advantageously provided a stackable container having a first pair of opposing sidewalls and a second pair of opposing sidewalls with each sidewall joined at corners to form a four sided container. The container tapers toward a bottom that is joined to the sidewalls and is opposite an open top of the container. The container has a supporting handle connected to each of the two first sidewalls with each supporting handle hinged to rotate about an axis between a first supporting position inside the container and a second position outside the container. When in the supporting position each supporting handle has a portion extending inward into the interior of the container a distance sufficient to engage a bottom of a similarly sized stacked container that can be stacked on said stackable container during use. The inwardly extending portion is offset toward the bottom of the container to form a ledge to position the stacked container during use. The supporting member also has an abutting portion located to abut a sidewall to limit rotation of the supporting handle during use as the weight of the stacked container urges the supporting handle to rotate.

In further variations, the stackable container can include a stop bracket fastened to the container wall below the axis about which each supporting handle rotates. The stop bracket is located so the abutting portion pushes against the stop bracket during use to stop rotation of the supporting handle. Further, the container may have a rod extending along the top edge of each sidewall with the supporting handles rotating about a portion of the rod and the axis coinciding with the axis of the rod, and with sidewalls are made of flexible material attached to the rods. The supporting handle preferably comprises an open frame having two opposing side members joining the inward facing portion and the abutting portion and sized so a person can extend a hand to grab the inward facing portion and lift the container. Moreover, the offset may be provided by an inwardly extending member having one end rotating about the rod and the other end connected to a depending portion located to abut a sidewall of a the stacked container during use and to position that stacked container relative to the rod, with the depending portion being fastened to one of the side members.

Preferably, there are two inwardly extending members, each connected to a different side member of the same open frame. Moreover, the container preferably has a stop bracket fastened to the container wall below the axis about which each supporting handle rotates, with the stop bracket located so the abutting portion pushes against the stop bracket during use to stop rotation of the supporting handle. Still further, the first sidewalls may have a first height and at least one of the second sidewalls has a second height which is less than the height of the first sidewalls in order to provide an opening allowing easier access to the interior of the container through the enlarged opening provided by the lower sidewall. The supporting handle need not be a handle configured to be readily gripped by a person's hand and can merely be a bracket configured to rotate inside and outside of the container to support stacked containers as described herein. But preferably the supporting handle has a portion configured to be gripped by a person's hand and lift the container.

The stackable container of Claim 1, wherein the inwardly extending portion extends a distance less than half the distance between the sidewalls to which the supporting handle are connected measured in the plane in which the extending portion is located when in a generally horizontal position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are top perspective views of two stacked containers;

FIG. 2 is a view of a support handle on the container of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b with the support handle supporting a container;

FIG. 3 is a view of a support handle on the container of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b showing the support handle without a container resting on the handle;

FIG. 4 is a view of the support handle of FIGS. 1-3 partially rotated and outside of the container;

FIG. 5 is a view of the support handle of FIGS. 1-3 outside the container and resting against a sidewall of the container;

FIG. 6 is a view of the support handle of FIG. 5 seen from the inside of the container;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a container of FIG. 1A with the supporting handles outside the container and hanging downward;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the container of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the container of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the container of FIGS. 1A and 1B with one side partially cut away to increase access to the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, containers 10 each have a plurality of sidewalls 12 defining an open top. The containers 10 preferably have two sets of opposing sidewalls 12 a, 12 b and 14 a, 14 b forming a four-sided container with a closed bottom 16 opposite the open top. The sidewalls 12, 14 are preferably tapered to allow nested stacking of the containers 10. The containers 10 can be of various construction and materials, but preferably have plastic or metal rods 18 running along each corner of the container. The rods 18 are preferably made of metal wire with a circular cross-section, but with an elastomeric coating on the wire to deter oxidation. The walls 12, 14 may be made of various materials with flexible or semi-flexible materials such as woven polymer fiber sheets or canvas being preferred as they are light weight, but alternatively made of stiff materials such as fiberboard, wood or metal sheet for increased strength and carrying capacity of the container 10. As needed, additional rods 18 can be provided to strengthen the bottom 16 or sidewalls 12, 14, preferably by extending between the rods 18 located along the edges of bottom 16 or opposing side walls 12 or 14.

The containers 10 are stacked, usually vertically so that references to upper or lower, top or bottom will refer to the relative vertical direction in which the containers are stacked. The containers enclose a space in which items are stored and inward refers to a direction away from a sidewall and toward the center or a central plane of the container, while outer refers to a direction away from the center or a central plane of the container.

A support handle 20 is provided on at least two of the opposing sides 12 or 14. The support handle is preferably mounted to each side, preferably mounted at the top edge of the container 10. In the preferred embodiment the support handle 20 is formed of metal wire and has two ends bent to form circular eyelets 22 which encircle the rod 18 along the top edge of the sidewall 12 or 14 on which the support handle 20 is attached and allow rotation about the encircled portion of rod 18 which passes through the eyelets 20. As needed, the sidewalls 12, 14 can have openings formed in them to accommodate passage of eyelets 22 and rotation of the eyelets. If the rod 18 does not extend along the entire edge of the sidewalls 12 or 14, a sufficiently supported rod segment can be used to similar effect. As seen in FIGS. 4-5, the support handle 20 can rotate from inside the container 10 to outside the container 10.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-3, the support handle 20 forms a support on a first container 10 a for an abutting bottom 16 of a second container 10 b stacked on top of the first container 10 a. The support handle 20 has a frame 24 which is in a generally horizontal when supporting a container 10 and generally vertical when rotated to a resting position outside of the container (FIGS. 5-6). The frame 24 is shown having a generally rectangular shape with an inwardly located portion 24 a extending toward the inside of the container 10 during use to support another container 10. Opposite the inward portion 24 a is abutting portion 24 b which during use abuts the sidewall 12 or 14 to which the support handle 20 is mounted. The inward portion 24 a is shown as curved but need not be so. The abutting portion is shown as straight and is preferably shaped to conform to the abutting shape of the portion of the sidewall 12 or 14—which is shown as straight in the depicted embodiment. The portions 24 a, 24 b are joined by two opposing sides 24 c. The sides 24 c are connected to and offset from the eyelets 22 by offset 26. The offset 26 is shown as extending inward toward a center of the container and then downward toward the bottom 16 to fasten to the side portions 22 c of the frame 20. The frame 24 extends inward away from adjacent wall 12 or 14 a distance sufficient to support one or more stacked containers 10 during use. The offset 26 has a first portion 26 a extending inward toward the center plane of the container 10, which first portion is generally parallel to the side legs 24 c in the depicted embodiment. The offset 26 has a second positioning portion 26 b which is generally vertically inclined during use.

The offset 26 locates the sidewall 12, 14 of the supported container (e.g., 10 b) and helps position the abutting sidewall and thus the supported container relative to the sidewall 12, 14 to which the supporting handle 20 is attached. Because there are two similarly constructed supporting handles 20 on two opposing sides 12, 14, the supported container (e.g., 10 b) is located between the positioning portions 26 b on opposing sides of the supported container. The inward frame portion supports the weight of the supported container 10 b and prevents downward motion of the supported container 10 b. The positioning portions 26 b on the two opposing support handles 24 keep the supported container 10 b generally centered between them. The first portion 26 a of each offset 26 is selected so the positioning portion 26 a is adjacent the sidewall of the supported container 10 b.

The length of the depending positioning portion 16 b allows the bottom 16 of the supported container 10 b to extend slightly into the open top of the lower or supporting container 10 a. The inward frame portion 24 a is thus located inward of the positioning portion 26 b a distance sufficient to support the bottom 16 of the upper, supported container 10 b. The exact distance needed to achieve a desired amount of support will vary with the construction of the containers 10 and the items placed in the containers. Likewise, the construction, bracing and strength of the materials used to form supporting handle 20 will vary with the items intended to be held in the containers. A support handle 20 made of metal wire about 0.2 to 0.4 inches in diameter is believed suitable for household applications.

The further the bottom 16 of the supported container 10 b extends past the plane of the top of the supporting container 10 a, and into the container 10 a, the less room there is to store items in the lower, supporting container, but the more securely the supported container will be positioned. On the other hand, if the depending length or offset of the positioning portion 26 b is too small then the supported container 10 b can slip over the positioning portion and slid off the lower, supporting container. A downward offset of about 0.4 inches to 1 inch is believed usable, but a larger offset is preferred in order to reduce the likelihood that the supported containers will slide sideways off the suitable for household containers having sides about 30 inches long or shorter. But the desired amount of offset will vary with the particular application.

If the lower container 10 a has supporting handles 20 located on two opposing sides 12 then the supported container 10 b move parallel to sides 12 until it abuts one of the other sidewalls 14. If the lower, supporting container 10 a has supporting handles 20 formed on all four sidewalls 12 a, 12 b, 14 a, 14 b, then the supported container 10 b can move only to the extent the opposing supporting portions 26 b are spaced apart from the adjacent sidewall 12, 14 of the supported container 10 b. A gap of about 0.1 to 0.2 inches is believed suitable for typical household uses, but the amount of gap can vary with the use and design of the containers 10.

Advantageously, the supporting portions 26 b are an elongated member inclined at about the same angle as the sidewalls 12, 14 when the frame 24 is in the generally horizontal position, so as to avoid punching through or binding the sidewall.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, depending on the construction of the container 10 and the weight of items to be held in the supported container 10 b, the sidewalls 12, 14 may be able to adequately resist the rotational and lateral forces exerted by the offset frame 20 abutting part 24 b against the wall 12, 14 to which the supporting handle 20 is connected. Uncertainty can be reduced by providing a stop bracket 30 connected to the rod 18 adjacent the supporting handle 20.

The depicted stop bracket 30 is a U-shaped bracket having at least one and preferably a plurality of legs 32 fastened to and depending from the rod 18. The legs 32 connect to a stop member 34 that extends generally parallel to the rod 18. The stop 18 is located by legs 32 so the abutting portion 24 b it's the stop 18 which prevents further rotation of the supporting handle 20. The stop bracket 30 thus has a stop member 34 offset from the rod 18 a distance sufficient to coincide with the location of the abutting frame portion 24. The offsetting legs 32 are preferably welded to the rod 18, with the end legs 32 located between the eyelets 22 and the adjacent ends 14 a, 14 b. Advantageously the outer legs 32 are slightly beyond and straddle the eyelets 22. The stop member 34 is preferably has a flat surface oriented to abut the stop frame portion 24 b so as to provide an increased vertical area that allows for movement of the eyelet 22 on the rod 18 about which the supporting handle 20 rotates.

The stop bracket 30 is preferably is formed of an elongated member having a rectangular cross-section with the long side of that cross-section generally parallel to the sidewall 12, 14 to which the respective supporting handle 20 is fastened. A plate could be used instead of the welded rod construction. A rod 18 with a plurality of depending legs 32 could also be used to engage the abutting frame portion 24 b. Likewise, if the stop member 30 comprised a plate, the ends of the side portions 24 c could abut the stop plate 30 and assume the function of the abutting frame portion 24 c and allow omission of that elongated part. These various ways of having a portion of the rotating support handle abut a stop fastened to or extending from the rod 18 provide means for restraining rotation of the supporting handle 20 and further provide means for transferring the forces on the supporting handle 20 to the container 10 and particularly to the rod 18 of that container.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3-6, the supporting handle 20 can rotate from the generally horizontal supporting position inside the container 10, to a generally vertical storage position outside the container. In the first, supporting position inside the container the supporting handle 20 has a portion contacting the stop bracket 30 to form a sufficiently strong support to carry a portion of the weight in or by the upper supported container 10 b stacked on the lower container 10 a. In the second, storage position the supporting handle 20 hangs down from the rod 18 on the outside of the container 10. The first portion 26 a of the offset 26 may abut the adjacent sidewall 12, 14 of the container, or may hang free, depending on the amount of taper on the container 10. A taper of about 15 degrees from the vertical is believed suitable, but the selected amount can vary. The supporting handle 20 has a third position between the first and second positions and in which third position a person's hand can engage the inward frame portion 24 a to carry the container 10.

The frame 20 is advantageously formed by bending wire to the desired shape and welding the ends to form the desired shape, and then welding the offsets to the sides 22 c after the eyelets 22 are formed. Thus, three sub-parts parts are combined to form the depicted support handle 20. The rods 18 may also be bent from wire and welded to form a frame for the container 10, with flexible material, fabric, canvas, plastic being connected to the rods 18 to form the sidewalls 12, 14. For example, the flexible material may be looped over portions of the rod and sewing, gluing, riveting or otherwise fastening the flexible material to itself to form pockets containing the rods 18. If solid sidewalls 12, 14 are used, such as fiberboard, stiff sheets of sheet plastic or metal, then the rods 18 may be omitted except cutouts in the sidewalls could be formed with segments of rods 18 extending across the cutouts and fastened to the sidewalls so the eyelets 22 could rotate about the sidewall. A molded container 20 is also believed suitable, in which case hinge pins can be molded into the top edges defining the open top to the molded container, with the supporting handle 20 fastened to the pins.

The rod 18 passing through the eyelets 22 forms a hinge for the supporting handle 20, and other hinge mechanisms could be used which fasten to the container 10 and its sidewalls 12, 14 to allow rotation of the supporting handle 20. The supporting handle 20 need not be an open frame construction which is used to provide a manually graspable handle. The supporting handle 20 may comprise an offset support 24 downwardly offset from the hinge line formed by rod 18 and eyelet 22, with a portion of the support 24 abutting sidewall 12, 14 or the stop bracket 30.

Because the container walls 12, 14 are tapered, a gap is formed between the smaller bottom portion of the sidewalls 12, 14 on the second, supported container 10 b, and the wider, upper of the sidewalls on the lower, supporting container 10 a. The size of the gap is determined in part by the length of the first portion 26 a and the location of the positioning portion 26 b relative to the rod 18 on the upper edge of the container 10. Since a plurality of container can be stacked, this gap allows viewing of the contents of the lower stacked containers, and allows access to insert items into the lower stacked containers or removal of items from the lower containers as long as the added or removed items can fit through the gap. The ability to slide the containers sideways parallel to the sides 12, 14 that contain the supporting handle members 20 allows the size of the gap to be increased at one side of the stacked containers and thus further increases the access.

During use, the supporting handles 20 are rotated to a position outside the container 10 so items can be readily placed into the container supporting container 10 a through the open top of the container. The supporting handles 20 are rotated into the first supporting position inside the container fur stacking, with the bottom 16 of a second container 10 b resting on the distal end of the inward frame portion 24 a, and with the positioning portion 26 b abutting opposing sidewalls 12 a, 12 b (or 14 a, 14 b depending on the number and location of supporting handles 20) to center the supported container 10 b and position the container 10 b relative to the sidewalls 12 a, 12 b and the rods 18 associated with those sidewalls 12. A number of containers 10 can be stacked on top of each other in this manner.

The weight of the supported container 10 b pushes against the frame 24 urging it to rotate about rod 18. The abutting frame portion 24 a pushes against the sidewall 12 to which the supporting handle 20 is connected in order to resist that rotation and support the second container 10 b. As desired, a stop can be fastened to the sidewall 12 or to the rod 18 to strengthen the sidewall and resist rotation and support the second container 10 b. The supporting handles 20 are advantageously sized so a user can fit a hand through the frame 24 to grasp a supporting handle 20 and lift the container to which the handle is fastened, with the handle rotating to accommodate such lifting. The offset provided by the positioning portion 26 b helps center the upper, second container 10 b and helps keep it from sliding laterally off the lower, supporting container 10 a.

Referring to FIG. 10, one corner of the open container 10 can be cut away to allow even further increased access to the interior of the container. Whereas the top edge of the container 10 in FIGS. 1-9 is generally parallel and in the same plane, that is not the case with the container 10 of FIG. 10. The container 10 has three sidewalls 12 a, 12 b and 14 b the same height with corresponding peripheral rods 18 the same height and in the same plane, and then has the fourth sidewall 14 a shorter in height with the corresponding rod 18 below the other rods and edges. An inclined peripheral edge 36 has a rod 18 and extends from the lower, shorter sidewall 14 a to the top of the opposing sidewalls 12 a, 12 b which each have fastened thereto supporting handles 20. The opposing sidewalls 12 a, 12 b have five sides, with the fifth side formed by edge 36 a and 36 b, respectively, and are similarly shaped. The opposing sidewalls 14 a, 14 b have four sides, but are of different sizes as sidewall 14 a is shorter. The short sidewall 14 a has no supporting handle 20 on it. The inclined edge 36 has one end located adjacent the supporting handles 20 and stop bracket 30 but could be spaced apart from those parts and toward the normal corners formed by the intersecting sidewalls 12, 14.

The angle of inclination and length of the edge 36 affects the ease of accessing the inside of container 10 from the side. If inclined edge 36 is omitted but sidewall 14 a is shorter in height than the adjoined sidewalls 12 a, 12 b, then access from the side of the container with the shortened sidewall 14 a is increased but access from the side is decreased. Further, while FIG. 10 shows one sidewall 14 a shortened, the opposing sidewall 14 b could also be shortened and joined by further edges 36. Such a construction is the same as that of sidewall 14 a and is not repeated. Thus, while the sidewalls 14 aa and 14 b (which lack the supporting handles 20) are preferably the same size and shape, one could be of different size to increase access to the container 10 through the smaller sidewall. The same applies to sidewalls 14 a, 14 b. Similarly, sidewalls 14 a and/or 14 b could be shorter in height than sidewalls 12 a, 12 b to which are mounted supporting handles 20 to increase access through the shortened sidewalls.

The shortened sidewall (14 a in the drawings) can have any height less than the height of the first sidewalls to which the supporting handles 20 are fastened. Further, while it is advantageous to have the shortened sidewall 14 have some height in order to form a lip that restrains items in the container 10 from sliding off the bottom 16 and over the shortened sidewall 14, the sidewall 14 could have a height of zero in which case it is easy to slid items into and out of the container. Whether or not the shortened sidewall 14 is provided, the containers 10 can be nested for shipping with the supporting handles 20 located outside the container to allow nesting without interference by the supporting handles 20, and stacked for use with the handles inside the container to limit nesting and support one container on top of another. The supporting handles 20 extend a short distance inward from the sidewall 12, 14 to which the supporting handles 20 are fastened, advantageously less than half the distance between opposing rods 18, and preferably less than ¼ that distance. The supporting members 20 advantageously extend a distance sufficient to support the rod 18 in the bottom edge of the supported container 10 b, and that distance will depend on the amount of the taper on the containers 10, and the vertical and inward (lateral) offset provided by the offset 26.

The container 10 is described as having four sides 12, 14, but any number of sides can be used. If more than four sides are used and there are an even number of sides, then it is preferable to have a supporting member 20 on every other side in order to help center the containers when stacked. If an odd number of sides are used, then supporting members 20 should preferably be placed on half the sides, less one.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments. 

1. A stackable container having a first pair of opposing sidewalls and a second pair of opposing sidewalls joined at corners to form a four sided container which tapers toward a bottom that is joined to the sidewalls and is opposite an open top of the container, the container comprising: a supporting handle connected to each of the two first sidewalls, each supporting handle hinged to rotate about an axis between a first supporting position inside the container and a second position outside the container, each supporting handle when in the supporting position having a portion extending inward a distance sufficient to engage a bottom of a similarly sized stacked container that can be stacked on said stackable container during use, the inwardly extending portion being offset toward the bottom, the supporting member having an abutting portion located to abut a sidewall to limit rotation of the supporting handle during use.
 2. The stackable container of claim 1, further comprising a stop bracket fastened to the container wall below the axis about which each supporting handle rotates, the stop bracket located so the abutting portion pushes against the stop bracket during use to stop rotation of the supporting handle.
 3. The stackable container of claim 1, wherein the container has a rod extending along the top edge of each sidewall with the supporting handles rotating about a portion of the rod, and wherein the sidewalls are made of flexible material attached to the rod.
 4. The stackable container of claim 1, wherein the supporting handle comprises an open frame having two opposing side members joining the inward facing portion and the abutting portion and sized so a person can extend a hand to grab the inward facing portion and lift the container.
 5. The stackable container of claim 4, wherein the offset is provided by an inwardly extending member having one end rotating about the rod and the other end connected to a depending portion located to abut a sidewall of a the stacked container during use and to position that stacked container relative to the rod, the depending portion being fastened to one of the side members.
 6. The stackable container of claim 5, wherein there are two inwardly extending members, each connected to a different side member of the same open frame.
 7. The stackable container of claim 5, further comprising a stop bracket fastened to the container wall below the axis about which each supporting handle rotates, the stop bracket located so the abutting portion pushes against the stop bracket during use to stop rotation of the supporting handle.
 8. The stackable container of claim 6, further comprising a stop bracket fastened to the container wall below the axis about which each supporting handle rotates, the stop bracket located so the abutting portion pushes against the stop bracket during use to stop rotation of the supporting handle.
 9. The stackable container of claim 8, wherein the first sidewalls have a first height and at least one of the second sidewalls has a second height which is less than the height of the first sidewalls.
 10. The stackable container of claim 1, wherein the first sidewalls have a first height and at least one of the second sidewalls has a second height which is less than the height of the first sidewalls.
 11. The stackable container of claim 1, wherein the supporting handle has a portion configured to be gripped by a person's hand and lift the container.
 12. The stackable container of claim 1, wherein the inwardly extending portion extends a distance less than half the distance between the sidewalls to which the supporting handle are connected measured in the plane in which the extending portion is located when in a generally horizontal position. 